15 things to do with the kids this week: Nov. 26-Dec. 2

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Sound of Music Sing-A-Long or Grinch Party, something will suit your mood

Wednesday, Nov. 26: "JELLIES"

One of the city's most popular exhibits of the last two years, the Shedd Aquarium's "Jellies" has announced its last call for visitors. The hauntingly beautiful jellyfish will vanish in January, so there's no time like the present to see them one more time (or for the first time). With their wide array of colors, shapes and sizes, these bizarrely beautiful aquatic enigmas — with no brains, blood or bones — never cease to fascinate.

That little red-haired orphan is just about as unstoppable as the sunrise she sings about in "Tomorrow." Almost 40 years after it first bowed, "Annie" is back to greet a new generation, thanks to this new tour directed by Martin Charnin, the show's lyricist. It's your chance to introduce the songs to your kids before Dec. 19, opening day for the updated film version, which moves the action to the modern day from FDR's era.

You'll never be so happy that night falls early as when you're at Morton Arboretum's dazzling and inventive winter light show, which returns after last year's triumphant debut. So much more than an impressive array of colored bulbs, the interactive "Illumination" offers unique activities, like changing the light show by singing to the woods or hugging a tree.

Dr. Seuss' beautifully simple fable about the true meaning of Christmas (Hint: It doesn't have anything to do with decorations and presents) gets expanded into this 90-minute musical, starring Tony-winner Shuler Hensley as the titular green meanie. Yes, you'll hear "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (the classic ditty sung from the 1966 TV-cartoon version), along with new tunes, including a Grinch-Cindy Lou Who duet, "Santa for a Day."

The whole fam can make extra room for today's Thanksgiving feast when they jog a 5K or 8K Lincoln Park route. Younger kids (2–12) can join the Plymouth Rock Ramble, with distance adjusted by age. After the race, families can play in the Turkey Tailgate Zone with games like "turkey bowling." Canned-food donations (bring 'em along) go directly to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and you'll leave the race with a blue, long-sleeved T-shirt. Pre-registration by Wednesday recommended.

Where: Start/finish line on Cannon Drive just north of Fullerton Avenue (turkeyday-5k.com/page/show/552422-chicago)

When: 7-8:45 a.m. registration; 9 a.m. race.

Cost: $25 youth (17 & under) or $45 adult for run; $20 for ramble.

Photo: Life Time Fitness

Thursday , Nov. 27: THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

Not cooking today? Before you head to grandma's, bundle up and dash downtown with the fam for this festive tradition on State Street, now celebrating more than eight decades. In between the enormous balloons, look for the stately Clydesdale horses and enjoy performances by the Jesse White Tumbling Team and the casts of Joffrey Ballet's "Nutcracker" and Goodman Theatre's "A Christmas Carol."

Where: Along State Street, heading north from Congress Parkway to Randolph Street (chicagofestivals.org)

When: 8-11 a.m.

Cost: Free.

—Photo: Antonio Perez/Tribune

Friday, Nov. 28: THE WREATHING OF THE LIONS

Roar along as the kings of Michigan Avenue get adorned in their annual finery this morning. This outdoor event includes complimentary cocoa and live music. Afterward, families are welcome to enter the Art Institute's Ryan Education Center to create their own holiday wreaths.

Cost: Free for wreathing event and for admission to Ryan Education Center. For the whole museum: $23 for adults, $17 for students, free for kids under 14.

—Photo: Art Institute

Friday, Nov. 28: FLYING FOX ANIMAL SHOW

Bats get a bad rep, but the Nature Museum curators hope this program can help. (It can't hurt that the beloved caped crusader from Gotham City names himself after these fascinating winged mammals.) Families can meet live fruit bats and other similar creatures. You might just be surprised: They're surprisingly cute.

Add some Mexican authenticity to your holiday gift giving when you shop this Christmas market inside Pilsen's beautiful art museum. Find everything from ornaments to jewelry to T-shirts, much of it handmade in Mexico.

This free family program from the Forest Preserves of Cook County gives everyone a chance to get outside and walk off some of yesterday's pumpkin pie (or did your kids demand it for breakfast today, too?). Take a guided hike on the trails through the woods and along the Des Plaines River near the Trailside Museum. Advance registration recommended.

Here's a tip if you want to excel at singing along to "The Sound of Music": Practice "The Lonely Goatherd" ahead of time; the lyrics will flash on screen far too quickly for novices to keep up. Other highlights of this popular Music Box tradition include the costume contest, which leads us to another tip: Your kids will look much cuter dressed as nuns than as Nazis.

Can't get enough of the Grinch? Good, because the independent merchants of Naperville once again launch their "shop local" campaign with a Grinch theme. After today's family friendly kickoff party at the bookstore, which includes photo ops with the famous grouch, spend the next few weeks on a scavenger hunt around Naperville looking for hidden Grinch tags in stores (a great way to keep the young ones busy while you shop). If you turn in "I found the Grinch at …" tags from each location, you can enter to win a gift basket. (Anderson's Bookshop will announce exact parameters at this morning's event.)

Sure, stage adaptations of the classic Dickens tale are as plentiful as candy canes, and your family knows all the story beats — but we're betting they don't know the beatbox version. The 75-minute rhyming show (presented in workshop form last year) comes from local hip-hop theater wizards the Q Brothers and their frequent collaborators at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Don't be a geezer like old Ebenezer: Add some rhythm to this tale of redemption.

She's kind and witty, sweet and pretty — yes, we're talking about the world's most famous bumbershoot-toting nanny, Mary Poppins. With this new production from the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Chicago-area director Rachel Rockwell turns her impressive talents on the Tony-winning all-ages megahit. If you've only seen the Disney film, you're in for a treat: The songs you love and remember are here, yes, along with some new tunes, an expanded story and a castor-oil-dispensing nanny nemesis for Miss Poppins.